Outrunning By John Drudge

The sign outside buzzes 

Like a drunk preacher 

Spilling light 

Onto the pavement 

Like jazz drums 

Sirens and fryer grease 

Poetry scratched 

Into bus shelter glass 

With a stolen knife 

And everybody bleeding 

Onto the streets 

All nerve and laughter 

Juking through alleys

With empty pockets 

Broken hearts 

And just one more 

Sure scheme 

As the city grinds on

Like an old engine 

Hungry 

Bulletproof 

And as steady

As the 3 AM train 

Outrunning the night

John is a social worker working in the field of disability management and holds degrees in social work, rehabilitation services, and psychology. He is the author of four books of poetry: “March” (2019), “The Seasons of Us” (2019), New Days (2020), and Fragments (2021). His work has appeared widely in numerous literary journals, magazines, and anthologies internationally. John is also a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee and lives in Caledon Ontario, Canada with his wife and two children.